“Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
                    –Matthew 20:28(NKJV)
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               “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
               The emblem of suffering and shame….”
                         –George Bennard

     No doubt about it, the cross was horrendous with agony unimaginable, but it was not a great tragedy.  It was a great victory, especially for anyone who turns to the Christ of the cross.  That cross brought the mission of Christ to an end when He cried, “It is finished.”  His work was complete, justice was met, reconciliation with the Father was now available, the propitiation was done.
     There are many in Christian circles who shy away from the cross.  They do not want to speak of sin, shame, and guilt, or the wrath, anger, and justice of God.  Yet that is part of the purpose and great wonder of the cross.  Alistair Begg reminds us, “Any attempt to articulate Christianity that denies the centrality of the cross can never lead to saving faith.”  Sin had to be dealt with.  Justice was demanded.  Jesus’ death on the cross defeated the curse of sin and He accepted the justice of God and took the wrath of God for all of mankind.
     One cannot read the New Testament without coming in contact with the cross and the work done upon it.  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, “The whole of the New Testament is proclaiming the blood of Christ, the death of Christ upon the cross on Calvary.  It is the heart and centre of the Christian evangel, the good news of salvation.”  
     Be careful, however, of making the cross an idol, a relic that saves you.  On the other hand, do not negate the purpose of the cross and what took place there.  “So you do not regret the cross, and you do not try to forget it or idealize it, or philosophize about it, and turn it into something beautiful and wonderful.  No, what you say is this:  I glory in it!  It is the means of my salvation.  It is the very way in which I am saved.” (Lloyd-Jones)  Jessie Brown Pounds penned these words to remind us that, “I must needs go home by the way of the cross, There’s no other way but this…”
     Perhaps we should heed more closely to the words of that grand old hymn by Isaac Watts:
                When I survey the wondrous cross,
                On which the Prince of glory died,
                My richest gain I count but loss,
                And pour contempt on all my pride.
What do you see when you survey the cross?  Do you see your sin?  Sin, a word that humanists try to avoid.  Do you shun the cross?  Is it just an ornament you wear around your neck?  Is it a symbol of your faith?  Is it a crucifix upon which Christ still hangs, redemption incomplete?  If so, how does it affect you?  Do you recognize the God-man Jesus on the center cross?  Listen, get this into your mind–the cross was not an accident.  It wasn’t just planned by the Jewish religious council or the Roman government.  Jesus’ life was directed to His fulfillment of the Father’s will.  Jesus came to give His life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28).  “Any man who is saved, is saved by the cross, and to be saved means that your sins are forgiven, that you are reconciled to God.” (Lloyd-Jones)

                    –Duane Boehm  (Never Too Old)

       “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
                    –1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)
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               “The cross upon which Jesus died
               Is a shelter in which we can hide.
               And its grace so free is sufficient for me,
               And deep is its fountain; as wide as the sea.”
                       –Ira Stanphill

     Many years ago, I wrote this in one of my studies:  We must realize that life is a very serious matter.  What happens in this life determines our eternity, therefore, man cannot waltz through life.  Even the church has false teachers moving away from the centrality of the cross.  The Cross is, and will never be popular–a stumbling block and foolishness in the eyes of the world.  The wages of sin is death; therefore, the Lamb of God was slain, placed on the cross as our substitute to offer redemption.  I wrote further in my notes:  the reason for the atheist–they cannot accept the cross, the only way to be reconciled to God, thus they say there is no God.
    This was written in regard to a study I was doing on the Cross of Christ.  In that study, it became more than a symbol, more than an object to be hung on the wall or around the neck.  As Christians the central message is, and must always be, the cross of Christ.  Paul writes, “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14, NKJV)  I began to ponder the cross and what it really means.  Yes, it was an old rugged cross; yes it represented a horrible death, but think more, put it altogether–the King of Glory, the Son of God came to hang on that cross.  I read something from D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and I tend to agree that without the cross Jesus was only a good teacher.  His ethical teachings will not solve the problem of sin.  His wonderful parables would be only nice stories that taught a valuable lesson.  But with the cross, man can not be reconciled, he can be justified before God Almighty.  Mankind must go to the cross, he cannot, he must not shy away from it.
     Jesus didn’t come to save; He came to die.  He came to pay the supreme sacrifice for sin–His death on the cross.  God’s wrath and justice was satisfied and now there is grace and mercy poured out–“grace that is sufficient for me.”  The blood of Christ was shed for the redemption of man–for my redemption.  Peter tells us, “that you were not redeemed with corruptible things…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18,19, NKJV)
     Take heart, look to the cross, the sacrifice of Jesus and live.  Our hope is in that cross and the sacrifice of Jesus upon it.  Don’t for a moment take it lightly, your eternal destiny depends on what you do with the cross.  Don’t be frivolous when gazing upon it, don’t think of Easter as only peeps and chocolate bunnies and eggs, but gaze upon that cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Will it be foolishness, a stumbling block to you, or will it be accepted as a comfort to your soul?  The chorus of Stanphill’s song says, “There’s room at the cross for you.”  Stay rooted and grounded in the great truth of the cross.  

                    –Ezekiel 34:25 (HCSB)
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       “Life is a privilege which God wants us to value.  When we turn from Him and pursue our own selfish desires, we lose sight of the sacredness of His gift.” (Dan Dick)  With that in mind we turn to Proverbs 3:16-18 some reasons why we should seek and search and ask for wisdom.

          16 — Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor.
          17 — Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
          18 — She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.  (NKJV)

     The person who has discovered wisdom has found a priceless treasure.  These are individuals who understand that happiness and peace do not come from the amount of wealth one has.  They understand that the eternal is to be preferred over the temporal.  “As a person comes to know God better he or she will avoid those activities which are self-destructive and unprofitable.  The person receives a deeper appreciation of God in the world.  Life becomes more meaningful and the person gains new understanding of what it means to be a success.” (Dick)  Look at what God did for Solomon when he asked for wisdom, the ability to judge the people and discern between good and evil.  God replied to Solomon, “And I have also given you what you have not asked:  both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.  So if you walk in My ways to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” (1 Kings 3:13-14, NKJV)  
       Who does not want a pleasant life?  Who does not want to go through this journey with peace?  J.L. Flores reminds us that “There is a pleasure in the duties relating immediately to God.”  Serving Him is in itself a pleasure.  Robert South tells us that the pleasures from wisdom “never satiates nor wearies.”  There is a calm assurance as we go through life.  We are free from the company of anxious doubt, we are free to move about in our actions that are pleasing to God.  We should also remember that “Wisdom of itself is satisfactory, as it implies a revelation of truth, and a detection of error to us.” (Isaac Barrow)  Along with a pleasant life will come peace.  Know that is not the peace from troubles and trials, but it is peace in the midst of them.  “Wisdom makes all the troubles of life easy and supportable, by rightly valuing the importance and moderating the influence of them.”
       The tree of life–that is abiding in Christ; it brings a pleasant and peaceful life, a foretaste of heaven so to speak.  Note, however, that the tree must be taken hold of.  F.B. Meyer states that a “tree requires careful tendence and bearing fruit for the patient cultivator.”  In other words, after taking hold of the tree, there must be the vigilant care of it.  Grasp hold, hand on, “Wisdom is a tree of life to them that ‘lay hold’ of her.” (Jermin)  A little wisdom is like a little godliness–it does relatively little good.  To lay hold takes work but the result is worth it.  Giovannie Diodati, states that “True wisdom maintains man in the spiritual life of God’s grace, and the communion of the Spirit.”    It is to have a conscious void of offense toward God and man. (Meyer)  
       Let us not forget those magnificent words of Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (1-3, NKJV)  This is true wisdom, godly wisdom.
       One other thought lest we forget that Jesus hung on a rugged cross–a tree, if you will.  This is the true “tree of life”, the cross of Christ.  It offers life, fullness of joy, and peace not only in this life, but eternally.